Where to buy the healthiest, tastiest treats for your furry friends

We're a food-conscious group here in Seattle. We raise chickens in our backyards so that we have access to fresh eggs and mash up carrots to make our own baby food. So it makes sense that we would be just as mindful of the food that we feed to our furry friends.

Making homemade treats is a good way to take a more active role in what your pet consumes -- peanut shells, litter and dirt eaten on walks notwithstanding. "You can actually see the quality, whereas with other treats, there might be something foreign in the box," says Jess Mooney, manager of downtown's Three Dog Bakery. "You're more involved in the process instead of just taking a company's word for it. A lot of it is a trust issue."

But the reality is that not everyone has time to raise chickens, puree baby food or whip up a batch of dog cookies, which is why so many Seattleites turn to local pet-supply shops for freshly baked treats for their four-legged friends.

Three Dog Bakery bakes its treats (50 cents to $3) in-house, using pet-safe, human-grade ingredients like peanut butter, carob, apples, eggs and honey. And while they're made for canines, all species can eat the baked goods -- even humans. "Everybody's welcome to try them," says Mooney. "But because it's vegetarian, most cats don't want anything to do with it."

Mes Amis in Queen Anne, Scraps Dog Bakery in South Lake Union and Bark Natural Pet Care in Ballard don't do their own baking, but all three shops sell homemade treats from Paws Gourmet in Marysville that would give human pastries a run for their money. Choose from cannolis, carob carrots, pupcakes, donuts, dog latte cookies, pumpkin poodles, cheese stars, jumbo bones and many more. There are even wheat alternatives for pets with special diets.

Bark also carries goodies from another local supplier of baked goods for pets, Simon and Huey in Mountlake Terrace. Baked treats at all three shops cost between 25 cents and $3.

For do-it-yourself types, Mes Amis also offers dog-, cat- and bone-shaped cookie cutters ($1.50) and baking pans ($15-$19.95) to accompany pet-friendly cake mixes ($7.50) and cheese-flavored cat- and dog-treat mixes ($7.95). "Your whole house smells like pizza when you make them," says Mes Amis owner Nicole Ryan.

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